January 2011

History really does repeat itself:

Months after they hammered Democrats for cutting Medicare, House Republicans are debating whether to relaunch their quest to privatize the health program for seniors. House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., is testing support for his idea to replace Medicare with a fixed payment to buy a private medical plan from a menu of coverage options.

Party leaders will determine if the so-called voucher plan will be part of the budget Republicans put forward in the spring.

I would really love to hear how a for-profit private company can cost less than the not-for-profit government, while maintaining the same level of care. It’s another pipe dream by Republicans and one that will not only cost this country more money, but also one that will sacrifice the health and well being of our seniors.

Last night’s State of the Union address by President Obama received some of the highest marks ever. One poll has 91% of the viewers approving of what the President said, while another had the approval at 84%. A vast majority of this country likes the plans the President laid out and that’s a number you just can’t ignore.

Or can you?

Well if you look around at the right wing sites today, you will quickly see them dismissing the speech:

If you were expecting a moderate Obama or a bold Obama, you were disappointed, most likely, by Tuesday's State of the Union Address. In a nutshell: Obama proposed a ton of new domestic spending, promised to freeze discretionary spending (attained by savaging defense), abstained from offering specifics on entitlement reform and largely ignored major foreign policy changes. Moreover, the delivery was so listless that this State of the Union address likely garnered less applause than any address in recent memory.

I didn’t know the “applause-o-meter” was the key to success in SOTU addresses. The last SOTU address that saw poll numbers like this was in 2002, right after 9/11.

President Obama laid out a clear plan for a successful America last night. The Republicans won’t have anything to do with it simply because Obama laid it out. Numerous polls have already shown that the honeymoon is over with the Republican controlled House, and with the support the President saw from his speech, fighting the plans laid out will help keep the newly found Republican power in check. As matter of fact it could lead to a one term win for them.

Justice Clarence Thomas has been breaking the rules of the court for 13 years by not reporting his wife’s income. That income shows a direct conflict of interest with cases Thomas has ruled on, including Citizens United. As Jonathon Turley points out:

For many, the incident will be cited as evidence of how toothless these rules have become. There is little deterrent for a justice who fails to disclose required information for 13 years — including information that would have likely been used as a possible basis for a recusal motion. It takes Common Cause to launch a major campaign to get compliance with the requirements.

What will be fascinating is the next case to come before Thomas of a criminal appeal in a failure to disclose case or tax case. There was nothing particularly complex about this reporting form. While criminal defense attorneys often argue that such omissions do not warrant prosecution, Thomas is viewed as fairly hostile toward such defendants coming before the Court. I was just counsel in the case of a judge who was removed from the bench by the United States Senate on articles of impeachment that included his failure to report income in a bankruptcy filing.

Of course Thomas won’t disclose in the future. We have created a Supreme Court that is above the law and that is why it’s time to change the Constitution so that we have a way to rid ourselves of ignorant minds like this:

An interesting article in today’s Wall Street Journal addresses the growing trend of employers firing workers over postings on such sites as Facebook. Next week the National Labor Relations Board is expected to rule in the first case of this type. The article then goes on to describe other cases of this type where people have lost their job over social network postings:

In Georgia, former high school teacher Ashley Payne sued the local school district in the Superior Court of Barrow County, claiming she was essentially forced to resign over Facebook photos that showed her drinking alcohol during a European vacation, said her attorney, Richard J. Storrs.

"What Ashley was doing was extremely innocent,"” Mr. Storrs said. "She was on vacation and holding a glass of wine."”

This epidemic is becoming very troublesome for employers and employees. In all honesty, people should be free to do what they want once they are off the clock. The fact that people have to walk on pins and needles when at home, for fear of repercussion at work, goes against everything this country stands for.  It’s time for employers to recognize that our society and the way we communicate is changing and that they need to adapt to that.